A Young Soldier's Memoirs: My One Year Growing Up in 1965 Korea

About the Book

The pages of this book vividly conjure up the sights and smells and sounds of Martinez’s adventures in Korea. He enthusiastically spent every free moment traveling everywhere, taking hundreds of photographs, teaching himself to speak, read, and write the language. Nothing escaped his youthful eyes, from ancient temples to rice planting and harvesting to little known facets of the country’s rich 5,000 year old culture. His exuberance with each of his discoveries is faithfully recorded, as are the familiar things we all felt—homesickness and fear, camaraderie and purpose. If you want to see the Korea of forty-five years ago through the bright eyes of a nineteen-year old soldier from Texas with a truly remarkable memory for every detail, this is the best way to do it.—William Roskey, Author of MUFFLED SHOTS: A Year on the DMZ

About the Author

As a veteran, Julio Martinez reflects on his new beginnings in a service that lead him out of a stagnated life style in the barrio of poverty and horrid physical and verbal abuse received from his mother. The service provided Julio with a “home” of training, travel, job skills and higher educational opportunities, not forgetting patriotism. His photography hobby certainly proved to be advantageous in his adventure enabling him to capture what words could not. His uplifting tour of duty year in Korea proved wondrous in a totally new world where he carried out his life long desires of adventure and independence. Julio, a retired elementary school teacher, now resides in El Paso, Texas.